Catfish farms were on a winning streak just a few years ago. They turned out a good fish at a good price, with a positive sustainability ranking, and people were buying it. Then foreign competition shuffled the deck.

Vietnamese catfish farms (photo above right) grow good fish at a good price, and the fish are cheaper. They're coming back under their own names, tra, basa, and pangasius, and winning again at the fish counter. The only hope for American catfish farmers is to win the race to the top, by selling for a high price to discerning fish lovers. You'll soon see a new American catfish product that will compete by featuring the higher environmental and sustainability standards used in US fish farms. Only it won't be called catfish, a name that's not suitable for a premium fish.

Enter "delacata," a new name for a fillet that's better than catfish. You'll see it soon if you haven't already, and it'll be free of the risk of contamination that hovers around imported farmed fish.

3 comments:

I live in Sydney Australia, supposedly one of the great coastal cities of the world. And yet, try getting hold of a decent piece of fish for the dinner table. Recently there were warnings in newspapers to the effect that pregnant women and children should avoid eating a number of species due to heavy metal contamination.

In light of all the discussion on tainted seafood from China, we thought we might republish this saga on the “Catfish War” between the U.S. and Vietnam. The Chinese are just as clever as the Vietnamese, of course. Like Vietnam, China feeds its pond raised seafood some interesting subtances like feces. And we wonder why the fish has bacteria in it….. But there is more to this story. Sometimes we Americans knowingly or unwittingly move our suppliers in a dangerous direction.------------Adlai

About Me

I grew up with fishing and the ocean, became a scientist, and now I'm a conservationist. I work for Washington Environmental Council, but the opinions here are my own. Email me at blogfishx (at) gmail (dot) com or about Swim Around Bainbridge at swimbi (at) gmail (dot) com.